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Richard Swift
|history= The Shade is a man so mysterious that it goes beyond cliche. Like the shadows from which the man derives his power, his history seems to have no substance to it. Rumors and guesswork are all that exist to provide context for a series of crimes that cover more than one hundred and fifty years. But the answers are there, for anyone who has the time and resources to dig. In 1838, Richard Swift was a happily married member of the middle class who frequented the literary circles of Victorian England. A friend of Charles Dickens, he was actually the basis for one of the famous author's characters. However, he won't tell anyone which one (It's Dick Swiveler, from the Old Curiosity Shop). In October of 1838, Richard was found wandering around in a senseless state spouting crazed gibberish. He had witnessed something so horrific that he has never spoken about it to anyone. Even Dickens, who observed the horror as well, began writing works that were considerably darker. Whatever the specifics of the event were, the only concrete evidence of their occurrence was the change evidenced in Richard. Now filled with a dark spectral energy, he had become one with the shadows, capable of giving the darkness life and commanding it. He left his wife and family, cut off ties with all but a few friends, and became something at once less than and more than human. Over the next twenty years, Richard's physical form was eaten away by the dark energy that now permeated his body, until he was literally nothing more than a manifestation of shadows. Now calling himself Mister Black, he entertained himself primarily with stealing exquisite artifacts and stirring up trouble. However, on occasion he would hire his singular abilities out for exorbitant sums of money. Typically, this involved stealing something specific or killing someone's rival. One such job involved him killing an entire troupe of circus performers in order to keep a young man's sister from running away with them. For this, he received a portion of land in a small city in Maryland. A friendship with Oscar Wilde resulted in Mister Black acquiring the nickname "The Shade". Realizing the dramatic flair of it, he gradually began going by that instead. As The Shade roamed all about the globe having adventures, he acquired equally impressive galleries of both friends and enemies. He made an immortal nemesis when he had a falling out with Simon Culp, a man who had gained abilities identical to The Shade's during the same horrific event. But he would also fight demons, witches, bridge trolls, steam-powered robots, circus freaks, witches, jealous husbands, clowns and even ice cream vendors. Each challenge he met caused him to push himself in a new direction, to conquer the fears he had and embrace his abilities. But each period of adventure and discovery was offset with a period of brooding introspection. Although he had abandoned his wife and children when he transformed, The Shade knew enough about his family to recognize his grandson when he ran into him in a Parisian brothel/opium den. The Shade helped his wayward grandson out of a jam which included demon worship and some unconventional behavior. Afterwards he was able to learn from this grandson what had become of his family. They were undoubtedly better off than they would have been if he had stuck around. Obscenely wealthy, in fact. However, despite feeling vindicated in his decision to leave them he did get one last glimpse of his now elderly wife from afar. She died three years later. Shade did not attend the funeral. Unfortunately, his grandson wouldn't be the only descendant who was tempted by otherworldly power. It would prove to be something of a family curse, with successive generations trying to exploit The Shade in order to gain said otherworldly power. But enough on that subject for now. There were times when The Shade pursued a villainous path with a sense of childlike eagerness. There were times when he found himself doing altruistic things despite himself. And there were times when he sat around and drank absinthe for weeks or months. Over time, he realized that it wasn't money or pleasures that he craved, it was only when he was having an adventure that he was able to forget that he was dead. Despite this realization, he stayed mostly out of the two World Wars, and participated only briefly in armed conflicts of any kind. During a particularly bad bout of ennui, The Shade happened to catch the headline of a newspaper article. There were masked men who were going about in gaudy costumes and stopping crimes. At this point, Shade already had more money and trinkets than he could ever need. But here was something new, and he had to get involved. He slapped a domino mask over his face, and went out into the world, stealing museum pieces in an over the top, flamboyant fashion. Sure enough, he soon found himself clashing with superheroes. For a while, these jousts really did fill him with glee and he developed serious rivalries with a few superheroes in particular. But like all of the endeavors that Shade undertook, this was only a temporary distraction. Today, Shade lives mostly in solitude in a location that has managed to remain concealed from both the law and the vigilantes who would love to make trouble for him. Hunched over his desk, he adds pages to his massive leather-bound journals. In his garden, he tends his exotic flowers. In his sitting room, he sips tea and stares out at the small city he has grown to love. And, when the mood strikes him, he steps out into the world in order to cause mischief. }} Category:Character Category:FC Category:Villain Category:Unregistered